KUCHING: Sarawak United People's Party will remain with the State Barisan Nasional even if the six state assemblymen resign from the party, said presidential candidate Peter Chin.
Chin is posied to win the presidential race tomorrow if rival Wong Soon Koh, who is also the party's deputy secretary general, sees through his threat to boycott the triennial delegates' conference (TDC) today.
Wong and his team issued the threat over what they alleged were irregularities in branch level party polls. They have lodged several reports with the Registrar of Society (ROS) and want the TDC postponed until ROS completes its investigation.
However the central committee which met yesterday declared that the branch polls were valid and held as per party constitution and that the TDC will go ahead as planned.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is to launch the TDC today.
Wong and his team have threatened to demonstrate at the launch in a bid to embarass Chin.
Meanwhile Chin, who is Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister expressed sadness at Wong's threat.
"I feel very sad, if they really carry out the boycott. Sad in the sense Wong and the elected representatives have chosen to stay away from an important event like TDC.
"If we want to be president and office-bearers, we should attend this meeting as this is our election method. If you don't attend the TDC, then you are forfeiting your rights.
'We will stay in BN'
"We should look at it as a friendly contest; we are all comrades and brothers. If the central committee chooses him (Wong) over me, we should congratulate him.
"If they choose me with him in attendance, then he should congratulate me. Then we come back as party leaders irrespective of what happens because I'm still the party leader in Miri and he in Sibu.
"We should work together for the party," Chin said, adding that all of them should respect the process of electing party leaders.
Chin also addressed rumours that Wong and his team would resign from the party and that SUPP grassroots wanted the party to pull out of the Barisan Nasional coalition.
"What can we do if they want to resign? We cannot stop them. It is their individual decision to make. We cannot force people to remain in the party.
"Even if all six (assemblymen) resign from the party, we will stay in BN. How can we leave the Barisan Nasional? I am the BN MP for Miri and still a SUPP minister in the Federal Cabinet.
"We will always be in the government. We may not have any state assemblymen but we have four MPs," said Chin.
Seats belong to SUPP
Chin also dismissed speculations that SUPP did not want to be represented in Chief Minister Taib Mahmud's state government.
He was asked if the next elected central working committee (CWC) would still want its elected representatives to serve in Taib's cabinet.
The present CWC was said to be against its assemblymen representing the party and the Chinese community following the defeat of 13 Chinese candidates in the last state election.
SUPP won only wo Chinese seats in Senadin (Lee Kim Shin) and in Bawang Assan (Wong Soon Koh) and four Dayak majority seats – Opar, Bengoh, Simanggang and Engkilili.
"The CWC never said that it refused its elected representatives to be appointed as ministers. Some people might have said it, but certainly not the party," Chin said.
Meanwhile, party president George Chan who was present at the press conference made it clear that should Wong and team resign from SUPP, they cannot take the seats with them.
"The seats belong to the party", he said.
Speculation is rife that Wong and his team comprising assemblymen Ranum Mina (Opar), Jerip Susil (Bengoh), Lee (Senadin), Francis Harden (Simanggang) and Johnichal Rayong (Engkilili) are planning to be form a new party.
It is further speculated that while waiting for the party to be registered, they have approached the Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Masing to allow them to temporarily park themselves under PRS.
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